A High Reliability Manager's Nightmare - The Lost Screw

[Wes Bucey]

How's this for a holiday present for the MFWIC (manager friend who's in charge)?
Dec 23, 10:25 am ET

MADRID (Reuters) - A Spanish nuclear power station has been shut indefinitely because of a small missing screw weighing just four to five grams that fell off a machine during refueling, nuclear officials say.


The Zorita plant, located in the central Castille-La Mancha region, cannot reopen until a full report on the screw is completed, a spokesman for the national Nuclear Security Council told Reuters on Monday.

Staff searched for the screw with cameras, but after failing to locate it on film, they concluded it must have slipped into an area of the reactor that was inaccessible to cameras, the spokesman said. He said it was unlikely the missing screw would present any risk.

[Claes Gefvenberg]

Originally Posted by Wes Bucey

He said it was unlikely the missing screw would present any risk.

Oh yeah... Great Christmas present. No, I'm not jealous.

Unlikley, eh? Ok, Just how unlikley is it that nothing will happen? I wonder what the backgrond data for that conclusion may be? Any Cove dwellers with Nuclear power plant knowledge around?

Anyway, I'm glad to hear that they're reacting the way they do: Shutting the plant down and going flat out to find the screw.

/Claes

[Wes Bucey]

Originally Posted by Claes Gefvenberg

Shutting the plant down and going flat out to find the screw. /Claes

They are not looking for a screw - they are writing a report to prove it is not dangerous to have it lost somewhere. If they find it (radiation danger to humans) it will be a bonus. All this stuff is done by machines/robots under human control from a safe distance.

Kind of like executing 20 Chinese key employees at facility for shoddy "Q" performance? Another urban legend?

[Wes Bucey]

Originally Posted by energy

Kind of like executing 20 Chinese key employees at facility for shoddy "Q" performance? Another urban legend?

Always a good idea to confirm sources.

The Chinese workers? I never heard that rumor.

Dropped screw? Big deal. Greenpeace is on it like stink on dung. Both AP and Reuters news agencies covered it with several releases throughout yesterday and today. AP is a little more informative. This is not a tiny watch screw, it is reported at AP the screw is "less than 2.5 centimeters in diameter" (hey that's a big screw, nearly an inch in diameter!)

Apparently the screw came off one of the tools used by the robots to load the nuclear fuel rods.

For details, how about BBC news? http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3343493.stm

[Mike Smith]

HI guys, a lost or missing screw can be serious business. I formerly worked in a F-14 squadron in the U.S. Navy. I have seen the aircraft grounded for something that seemed so small such as a missing tool or missing screw. If the screw or tool got caught in the aircraft flight control linkage or another critical part, it could cause a loss of life. I don`t know how a nuclear power plant works, but it could be a very serious and/or similar situation.

Originally Posted by Wes Bucey

Always a good idea to confirm sources.

The Chinese workers? I never heard that rumor.

For details, how about BBC news? http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3343493.stm

Thank you sir! The Chinese story was the summary execution of a Quality Manager, the Plant manager and the 18 other employees for producing shoddy equipment.

[Sam]

Back in the 80's the government had a program called "FOD" foreign object damage. It applied primarily to manufacturer's producing aircraft parts. The program covered everything from dirt/debris on the floor to missing and left over parts.